{"id":111557,"date":"2020-03-26T11:55:32","date_gmt":"2020-03-26T10:55:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=111557"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:24:52","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:24:52","slug":"after-nearly-50-years-this-well-loved-security-guard-had-to-retire-without-a-farewell-party","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2020\/03\/26\/after-nearly-50-years-this-well-loved-security-guard-had-to-retire-without-a-farewell-party\/","title":{"rendered":"After nearly 50 years, this well-loved security guard had to retire without a farewell party"},"content":{"rendered":"

Peter Harteveld was in the university\u2019s employment for close to 48 years. Friday was his last day on campus \u2013 a day that came more abruptly than expected due to the corona outbreak. One thing the veteran \u2018Erasmian\u2019 does want to share before bowing out: the campus buildings actually need to be opened in the morning, the Wi-Fi service maintained \u2013 and those toilets don\u2019t clean themselves. All this work is done by people. \u201cThey deserve a bit more appreciation now and then.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Born-and-bred Rotterdammer Peter Harteveld was only 17 when he started working for the university. He was a trained ship\u2019s cook, \u201cjust like my grandad \u2013 he worked on board the SS Rotterdam.\u201d Still, Harteveld never earned a penny at sea: \u201cIn the second year of my programme, they suddenly realised that at 1.98 metres I was actually too long for the job. \u2018You don\u2019t fit in a galley; you\u2019d have to hunch over the whole time!\u2019 is what they told me.\u201d But no worries. \u201c\u2018Look \u2013 people on shore need to eat too,\u2019 is how my Grandad put it.\u201d<\/p>\n

And so started a long career \u2013 originally at Medische Faculteit Rotterdam [the predecessor of the Erasmus MC, Eds.] \u2013 that lasted almost 48 years, one wife, two daughters and a smattering of grandchildren. A career that was rounded off last Friday, at 3 p.m., with Harteveld in his regular spot behind the information desk in the Erasmus University College (EUC) building on Nieuwemarkt. But apart from Harteveld and his colleague, the place was deserted. There was no one to make a fuss about it, no farewell parties, due to corona.<\/p>\n

Probably not how you expected to end your career at the university!<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I have mixed feelings. On the one hand it all came rather suddenly: I would have liked to have done a full 48 years by retiring in December. But at the same time I\u2019m preoccupied with my daughter at the moment. She has been in quarantine with her husband for the past twelve days after catching corona. Fortunately she\u2019s on the mend now. But in times like these, work and retirement aren\u2019t your primary concerns. And the folks at EUC held a conference call and gave me a heart-warming farewell.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018My medical history means visiting the EUC building has become too risky\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Why did it end so abruptly, meaning you couldn\u2019t round off your 48th year?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cI have a medical history: I\u2019ve had heart surgery, four bypasses, infectious mono, diabetes. At the start of the corona crisis, I told my boss that I found it all a bit tricky \u2013 normally speaking, I take public transport to work. The last few days my wife dropped me off in the car. Wednesday last week, the Head of HR called me to tell me I would be retiring as of that Friday. My medical history means visiting the EUC building has become too risky. And as a security guard, you need to be there in person. It\u2019s a shame that I can\u2019t keep working until December. But I\u2019ll survive: \u2018it is what it is\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\t

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Peter Harteveld\u2019s career<\/i><\/p>\n

Harteveld started as a cook at what was then still called Medische Faculteit Rotterdam. A few months later, in 1973, Medische Faculteit Rotterdam merged with Nederlandse Economische Hogeschool to form Erasmus University, and he moved to the central kitchen at Woudestein. As a cook, he prepared food for locations throughout Woudestein and Hoboken: \u201cCroquettes, frikandellen, noodles, fried rice \u2013 you name it, we made it.\u201d<\/p>\n

When the \u2018long hours, hustling and slogging away in the kitchen\u2019 started to become too much, Harteveld started on a new job as caretaker of the L Building [the present-day Sanders Building, Eds.] \u201cMore time with the students and staff, less grafting away. It was perfect.\u201d After this position was terminated during a reorganisation, he could choose between the post room, technical support or security. He chose the latter. At 54, he retrained as a security guard and completed a computer course. \u201c\u2018You will need to get yet another diploma, Peter!\u2019 they told me. But I did just fine!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t<\/div>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tMarko de Haan<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Why did you stay with the university all those years?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cBefore ending up at the medical faculty, I worked in a nursing home for a year. But then they switched to frozen meals, meaning they no longer needed a cook. That\u2019s when I got a job at the university, and I\u2019ve never felt like leaving. The university\u2019s a wonderful employer that offers all sorts of opportunities to develop yourself. For example, I\u2019m tremendously happy that at age 54, when I was studying for my security diploma, I still had an opportunity to learn about the law and how to use the power of arrest and the power to seize property. It\u2019s an incredibly interesting occupation.\u201d<\/p>\n

What makes it so interesting?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYou have a lot of interaction with students and staff members. And everyone in the building has his or her own specific wishes. As a security guard, you need to ensure that everyone\u2019s wishes are fulfilled as far as possible. How can you keep everyone satisfied \u2013 that\u2019s the challenge. And you need to be able to say \u2018no\u2019 occasionally too.\u201d<\/p>\n

What\u2019s the most remarkable thing that ever happened to you?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOver the years, I\u2019ve had a lot of wonderful experiences, but also less pleasant ones. For instance, when the Erasmus MC was still one of the few high-rise buildings in the city, it was popular with people who wanted to end their life. That\u2019s something you have to deal with as a member of the support staff. One time it happened on New Year\u2019s Day \u2013 I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever forget that.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018A stage caving in on Herman Brood and his entire band\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

\u201cBut I also have happy memories. Absolutely incredible student parties in the university\u2019s C Hall. A stage caving in on Herman Brood and his entire band, students going through 43 fifty-litre barrels of beer in one evening. There was always something going on. There were fewer parties after they started monitoring the budget and awarding student grants based on credit totals. Those days are gone \u2013 today\u2019s students are a lot more serious.\u201d<\/p>

Did you see academia change in other ways besides?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cThe campus is booming; it\u2019s bursting at the seams. I\u2019ve seen more and more buildings go up. Buildings that are fit for demolition haven\u2019t been torn down. The N Building for example. \u2018Slis\u2019, we used to call it:sloopinstandhouding<\/em> (\u2018demolition maintenance\u2019). Or take the V Building, that gaudy thing out in front of Mandeville. That was intended as a temporary solution, but it\u2019s still here seven years on.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve also seen all sorts of developments in education: from teaching with a flip chart to lecture halls full of electronics. And the lecturers were expected to stay up with all these technological trends. In the old days, students had to go over to the bookcase; now they snap open their laptops and they\u2019re ready to go.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Erasmus University College at Nieuwemarkt square in Rotterdam.<\/span><\/p>

\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tFrank Berkelaar<\/span>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Do you have anything else you\u2019d like to share with the university community now that you\u2019re retiring?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cA lot of students see it as a given that the toilets are clean, that the catering has been arranged and the Wi-Fi works as intended. Because \u2018watch out\u2019 if it doesn\u2019t! Mayhem\u2026 But the monitors in the classrooms, the video clips that start when you press play, the toilets that are cleaned after use \u2013 all this work is done by people. And they deserve a bit more appreciation now and then. The cleaners for example, who come in every morning before 7 and set to work.\u201d<\/p>\n

I\u2019ve heard you call yourself a true \u2018Erasmian\u2019. Why?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I\u2019m a prime example. My wife and I live in walking distance of the most beautiful temple on Earth: \u2018De Kuip\u2019. Apparently you have something called the ArenA somewhere in Amsterdam \u2013 but you can find arenas anywhere. For me, the Feyenoord stadium is one-of-a-kind, and this temple plays a special part in my life. And the same applies to the university: that\u2019s like a temple to me too. They\u2019re places where I feel at home and enjoy the atmosphere, and where I have a wonderful time together with the other people there. I don\u2019t get that feeling anywhere else. And if you feel that in this city, that makes you an \u2018Erasmian\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\t\u2018I\u2019ll definitely be missing my dear colleagues\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

Will you be missing it \u2013 the university?<\/strong><\/p>\n

\u201cOne thing I won\u2019t miss is getting up at 4:45 every morning because we had to open the building for the cleaners coming in at 7. But I\u2019ll definitely be missing my dear colleagues. We won\u2019t be forgetting each other. I have a nice barbecue in my garden, and when the time\u2019s right and corona\u2019s behind us, I may invite them over for a farewell party with all the trimmings.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd for now? As long as the virus is making the rounds, I\u2019ll be staying in. I try to enjoy myself as much as possible. And after that\u2026 oh man, I have so many hobbies: drawing, painting, photography, fishing, ballroom dancing. I\u2019d also like to write about the history of the EUC building. Enough to keep my calendar full for the next five years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t

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De redactie<\/h2>\n\t\t\n\t\t
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